


Give Me Black Caffeine

by Snacky



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Ficlet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-18
Updated: 2015-05-18
Packaged: 2018-03-31 05:15:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3965779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snacky/pseuds/Snacky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jon knows you need caffeine to get you through early morning classes, but the red-haired girl who sleeps through Intro to Philosophy hasn't learned that lesson yet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Give Me Black Caffeine

Jon had been watching the redhead in his 7 a.m. Intro to Philosophy class all semester. Well, not the first two weeks. The first two weeks were spent trying to keep himself awake, and wondering why the hell he had ever let his roommate convince him that a 7 a.m. class was a good idea.

"Core credits!" Sam had said. "You need them to graduate. And besides, you get up early anyway. You're always up before me to go for your run."

This was true. Jon did need the core credits. And he did get up early usually. So he gave in and registered for the class, and after the first week of dragging himself out of bed, he decided he wanted to kill Sam (who had dropped the class after the first day, and was snoring away every morning when Jon left their room).

Intro to Philosophy was a really bad class to take at 7 a.m. for many reasons, not the least of which was that he was developing a terrible caffeine habit. He started his day with the largest coffee he could get from the funky café on the way to class, and when he was done with that (which was about halfway through each lecture), he started on the Red Bull he'd taken to carrying in backpack.

There was only one good reason to take the class, as far as he was concerned: the redheaded girl who always shared the back row of the lecture hall with him. Most of the other students sat up front, wanting the professor to see them there, all eager to learn first thing in the morning. Jon just liked the quiet of the back row.

The girl, he thought, was just there to sleep.

Because that's what she did each class. She'd arrive just before the class started, slide into her seat, open her laptop and wait, fingers poised over the keyboard, for the lecture to begin. Five minutes after the professor had started speaking, she was invariably asleep.

Jon found this fascinating. 

He spent most of every class watching the girl. She always gave him a smile when she arrived, and a little wave — they were, after all, partners in the back row. She had a pretty smile, he thought. And even prettier blue eyes. But really, the most interesting thing, he thought, was watching her sleep.

She'd slide down low in the seat, her head dropping forward a little, and soon her eyelids were drooping. Her breathing would even out, and then she was well and truly asleep. Nothing disturbed her — not the lecture, not the sounds of the other students, not even Jon answering the professor's questions. He found himself volunteering answers a lot, to cover for the girl — what if the professor called on her, and she was asleep? He didn't want her to get caught. 

Sometimes when he'd glance over, he thought he'd caught her in a dream. There'd be a smile on her face, or sometimes she'd mumble something. Jon always wanted to move closer at those moments, to try to hear what she's saying.

He wasn't sure it that made him completely creepy. Or if what made him completely creepy was having a crush on a girl he only really knew from watching her sleep. He didn't want to dwell upon his creep factor too much, though. He'd rather try to get to know her when she was awake.

That was difficult though, since she invariably woke up about five minutes before the class ended, packed up her laptop, and rushed off as quickly as she rushed in. There was never any time to say "Hey, hello, I'm Jon, the guy who's been watching you sleep all semester."

Maybe he'd leave that last part out.

But the class before the midterm exam, the girl stayed awake, typing frantically as the professor reviewed key points that would be on the test. By the end of the class, she looked completely stressed, biting on her lip as she stared at her computer screen.

For the first time, she didn't rush off as soon as the class ended. Jon took a chance, clearing his throat. "Um. Hey?"

The girl looked up at him. "Hi…"

"So… would you like to, maybe, study together for the exam? We could go to the library, go over notes?" He held out his hand, adding hurriedly, "I'm Jon, by the way."

"Sansa." She shook his hand briefly, then shook her head. "I'm afraid I don't have much to go over, so I wouldn't be a good study partner. I, um…"

"Sleep through most of the class? I've noticed." 

Sansa stared at him for a moment, and Jon was afraid he'd screwed that up, before she dissolved into giggles. "I suppose you have. You don't mind helping me? It's terrible, I know, but I have a job where I work nights, and I never should have taken this early class but I thought I could stay up…" She sighed. "I really should start drinking caffeine."

Jon reached into his backpack, and pulled out a Red Bull, offering it to her with smile. "I don't mind helping at all."


End file.
